Now’s your chance to help Fresno break out of deadly cycle of traffic fatalities | Opinion
Every year since the pandemic, between two and three dozen people have lost their lives while walking or riding a bike on Fresno roads.
To be exact: 33 combined pedestrian and cycling fatalities in 2024, 24 in 2023, 35 in 2022, 25 in 2021 and 35 in 2020.
Then add more than 150 automobile drivers and passengers killed in traffic collisions during those five years.
“The numbers are shocking,” said Laura Gromis, chair of the city’s Active Transportation Advisory Committee. “That’s the only way to say it.”
Fortunately, there’s a way out of this senseless doom loop. But it will require involvement, and ultimately buy-in, from Fresno residents. Starting now.
In 2023, at the long urging of Gromis and other advocates for safer streets, city leaders invested $500,000 ($400K from a federal transportation grant) to develop a Vision Zero action plan.
These next 12 months will be crucial in formulating a plan that leads to the sort of improvements that show up on collision fatality statistics — and not another government program that gets shelved and quickly forgotten.
Vision Zero, in case you’re wondering, is a global movement (adopted by more than 30 U.S. cities since it became Sweden’s national road policy in 1997) whose goal is to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries under the premise that both are unacceptable and preventable. The way to do that requires a systemic approach that emphasizes safety over speed and is specifically tailored for each city’s road network.
When completed, Fresno’s Vision Zero action plan will contain four primary elements. The first, a complete analysis of all fatal crashes to understand when, where and why, has already been completed.
The second involves public outreach and engagement with community stakeholders to provide critical feedback that informs the plan. Those efforts include an ongoing public opinion survey (open through Jan. 31) about road safety in which residents, commuters and visitors are asked to share their concerns, suggestions and personal anecdotes.
More than 500 people have responded thus far. Future outreach efforts will include community bike rides (the first is scheduled for next month in District 5) and resident focus groups.
“It’s not just a one-way street of collecting information,” Gromis said. “For any real change to occur that advances road safety in Fresno, this has to be a conversation. That’s why the public’s participation and involvement is so important.”
Position Fresno for future funds
The third prong of the Vision Zero action plan, according to the city’s web site, is to “identify strategies, projects, priorities, and policy changes that aim to eliminate fatal and serious crashes on Fresno streets.”
Some of these policy changes and projects (i.e., reducing speed limits and upgrading traffic signals near Woodward Park) have already been implemented. Sadly, it took several tragedies for those things to occur.
Finally, and in some ways most importantly, the action plan must position Fresno for future funding opportunities necessary to make the transportation safety improvements identified in prong three.
Simply because the cost of reducing or eliminating traffic fatalities will far exceed what the city can afford to pay on its own.
“The goal of Vision Zero is to have a comprehensive overview,” Gromis said. “Where we’re at now, where we want to get to as a city and what steps can be taken to systematically address this.”
Certainly, not every road fatality or serious injury is within Fresno’s control. It’s not the fault of local government that modern cars and trucks are designed with taller hoods, resulting in higher rates of pedestrian deaths. And it isn’t the city’s fault when someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol elects to cross a busy intersection at night under a red light.
Nor can the city be blamed for distracted drivers that can’t bear to put their phones down for the 10 minutes it takes to get to Costco. (Though it would be nice to see police enforcement given a little higher priority.)
Nevertheless, there is significant room for improvement. That includes everything from promoting safer driving habits to redesigning roadways so that crashes, when they do occur, are less severe.
Everyone who drives, walks or rides a bike in Fresno deserves a voice in what a Vision Zero future can look like. These next several months are your chance to help California’s fifth-largest city break its deadly cycle.
